$6,000 Bang & Olufsen System Features Pandora-like Music Analysis

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$6,000 Bang & Olufsen System Features Pandora-like Music Analysis

Electronics maker Bang & Olufsen is releasing a 500GB digital audio player this month that uses an intelligent 'music identity' system similar to Pandora.com's and Microsoft's MixView. But sadly, its BeoSound 5 system is likely to only end up in the showcase rooms of America's richest families. It's expected to be priced at a massive $5,900.

Suddenly, the value of the other two smart music analysis services seems to grow. Not only are they both free, but their livelihood on the cloud allows for customized hardware and wireless applications.

But you have to give B&O it's due on one thing: It's an extremely sleek, beautiful-looking system. I especially like the $500 floor stand that makes the player look a prop from Star Wars. Still, I'd stop myself before calling it 'sensual,' which is what the company did in its statement. That's nuts.

The BeoSound 5 system comes in two parts – the BeoMaster 5 black box that includes its storage, web, and PC connections, and the futuristic BeoSound 5 master control. The control has a smart juke box program called 'MOTS' (for 'More Of The Same') that takes WMA tracks from your digital library and creates playlists based on appropriately similar attribute matches.

According to B&O, the identity attributes are analyzed by a complicated math formula, but there's no word on whether the system will tell you the reason for its choices. Pandora, for example, uses interesting (some would say uselessly vague) explanations like 'we're playing this track because of its mild rhythmic syncopation.'

The control is flashy, especially the cool aluminum wheel, and the UI seems very smooth (check out the video below) and definitely different from other visual controls. But if you're paying almost $6000, shouldn't it have an OLED screen and come with a butler or something? It currently has 10.4-inch LCD. It's also wireless, with direct connection to web radio stations.

As we're reminded every day now through layoffs and discarded product lines, the economy is really beating down electronic makers. So this high-end gadget will probably have a hard time getting traction. But someone will manage to pick it up and you know it'll look awesome in the middle of any room.